Method and device for activating a media player

ABSTRACT

A method and device for activating a media player enables efficient and convenient access to media files. The method includes determining that a wireless communication device is not operatively coupled to a network. An operative coupling of a speaker system to the wireless communication device is detected. The media player is then activated automatically in response to detecting the operative coupling of the speaker system to the wireless communication device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/549,863, filed on Oct. 16, 2006, which is incorporated byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to wireless communicationdevices, and in particular to multi-function wireless communicationdevices that include media players.

BACKGROUND

Users continually seek increased functionality from portable electronicdevices. Further, it is often desirable to integrate the capabilitiesand functionality of different portable devices into a single portabledevice, so as to eliminate the need to carry multiple devices. From auser's perspective, eliminating the need to carry multiple devicesprovides a significant advantage because carrying multiple devices canbe cumbersome. Additional advantages that can be realized by integratingthe capabilities of multiple devices into a single device includereducing costs by eliminating the need to purchase multiple devices, aswell as eliminating the need to purchase and maintain separate batteriesand accessories for multiple devices.

Mobile telephones are increasingly multi-function devices that caninclude, in addition to wireless telephony services, functions andapplications commonly associated with digital music players, personaldigital assistants, notebook computers, and various other devices. Forexample, mobile telephones often include applications for media playing,calendaring, personal information management, internet browsing, andprocessing emails. However, increased functionality often results inmore complex devices that are more difficult to operate. For example,some multi-function devices require navigating complex menus or pressingmultiple keypad entries to activate specific functions.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect, the present invention is a method foractivating a media player of a wireless communication device bydetermining that the wireless communication device is not operativelycoupled to a network, detecting an operative coupling of a speakersystem to the wireless communication device, and then activating themedia player automatically in response to detecting the operativecoupling of the speaker system to the wireless communication device.

According to another aspect, the present invention is a method foractivating a media player of a wireless communication device bydetecting operative coupling of a stereo speaker system to the wirelesscommunication device, and then activating the media player automaticallyin response to detecting the operative coupling of the stereo speakersystem to the wireless communication device.

Embodiments of the present invention therefore enable a media player ofa wireless communication device to be activated quickly and with only asingle input from a user. Operative coupling of a speaker system to awireless communication device, such as the single action of plugging ina headset to a mobile telephone, can automatically activate a mediaplayer to provide immediate access to audio or video files. Someembodiments of the present invention further avoid delays associatedwith attaching a wireless communication device to a network during aconventional start up process, by activating a media player in atransmitter off mode, thus further accelerating access to the mediaplayer and conserving battery power. Still other embodiments of thepresent invention distinguish between operative coupling of a stereospeaker system, which may indicate that a user seeks to play an audio orvideo file using a media player, and operative coupling of a monospeaker system, which may indicate that a user seeks to use a wirelesscommunication mode of a wireless communication device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be readily understood and put intopractical effect, reference will now be made to exemplary embodiments asillustrated with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein likereference numbers refer to identical or functionally similar elementsthroughout the separate views. The figures together with a detaileddescription below, are incorporated in and form part of thespecification, and serve to further illustrate the embodiments andexplain various principles and advantages, in accordance with thepresent invention, where:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a multi-function wirelesscommunication device in the form of a mobile telephone, according tosome embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating activation of a media player on amobile telephone in response to detecting operative coupling of aspeaker system, in the form of a headset, to the mobile telephone,according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a general flow diagram illustrating a method for activating amedia player of a wireless communication device, according to someembodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a general flow diagram illustrating a method for activating amedia player of a wireless communication device, according to some otherembodiments of the present invention.

Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures areillustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily beendrawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements inthe figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help toimprove understanding of embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before describing in detail embodiments that are in accordance with thepresent invention, it should be observed that the embodiments resideprimarily in combinations of method steps and apparatus componentsrelated to a method and device for activating a media player.Accordingly, the apparatus components and method steps have beenrepresented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings,showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understandingthe embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure thedisclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

In this document, relational terms such as first and second, top andbottom, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity oraction from another entity or action without necessarily requiring orimplying any actual such relationship or order between such entities oractions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variationthereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that amethod, or device that comprises a list of elements does not includeonly those elements but may include other elements not expressly listedor inherent to such a method or device. An element preceded by“comprises a . . . ” does not, without more constraints, preclude theexistence of additional identical elements in the method or device thatcomprises the element.

According to one aspect, the present invention is a method foractivating a media player of a wireless communication device bydetermining that the wireless communication device is not operativelycoupled to a network, detecting an operative coupling of a speakersystem to the wireless communication device, and then activating themedia player automatically in response to detecting the operativecoupling of the speaker system to the wireless communication device.

According to another aspect, the present invention is a method foractivating a media player of a wireless communication device bydetecting operative coupling of a stereo speaker system to the wirelesscommunication device, and then activating the media player automaticallyin response to detecting the operative coupling of the stereo speakersystem to the wireless communication device.

Embodiments of the present invention therefore enable a media player ofa wireless communication device to be activated quickly and with only asingle input from a user. Operative coupling of a speaker system to awireless communication device, such as the single action of plugging ina headset to a mobile telephone, can automatically activate a mediaplayer to provide immediate access to audio or video files. Someembodiments of the present invention further avoid delays associatedwith attaching a wireless communication device to a network during aconventional start up process, by activating a media player in atransmitter off mode, thus further accelerating access to the mediaplayer and conserving battery power. Still other embodiments of thepresent invention distinguish between operative coupling of a stereospeaker system, which may indicate that a user seeks to play an audio orvideo file using a media player, and operative coupling of a monospeaker system, which may indicate that a user seeks to use a wirelesscommunication mode of a wireless communication device.

Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram illustrates a multi-functionwireless communication device in the form of a mobile telephone 100,according to some embodiments of the present invention. The telephone100 comprises a radio frequency communications unit 102 coupled to be incommunication with a common data and address bus 117 of a processor 103.The telephone 100 also has a keypad 106, a display screen 105, such as atouch screen, and a peripheral socket 119, for peripheral devices suchas headsets, coupled to be in communication with the processor 103.

The processor 103 also includes an encoder/decoder 111 with anassociated code Read Only Memory (ROM) 112 for storing data for encodingand decoding voice or other signals that may be transmitted or receivedby the mobile telephone 100. The processor 103 further includes amicroprocessor 113 coupled, by the common data and address bus 117, tothe encoder/decoder 111, a character Read Only Memory (ROM) 114, aRandom Access Memory (RAM) 104, programmable memory 116 and a SubscriberIdentity Module (SIM) interface 118. The programmable memory 116 and aSIM operatively coupled to the SIM interface 118 each can store, amongother things, selected text messages and a Telephone Number Database(TND) comprising a number field for telephone numbers and a name fieldfor identifiers associated with one of the numbers in the name field.

The radio frequency communications unit 102 is a combined receiver andtransmitter having a common antenna 107. The communications unit 102 hasa transceiver 108 coupled to the antenna 107 via a radio frequencyamplifier 109. The transceiver 108 is also coupled to a combinedmodulator/demodulator 110 that is coupled to the encoder/decoder 111.

The microprocessor 113 has ports for coupling to the keypad 106, to thedisplay screen 105, and to the peripheral socket 119. The microprocessor113 further has ports for coupling to an alert module 115 that typicallycontains an alert speaker, vibrator motor and associated drivers, to awireless peripheral adapter 121 such as a Bluetooth® adapter, to amicrophone 120 and to a communications speaker 122. The character ROM114 stores code for decoding or encoding data such as text messages thatmay be received by the communications unit 102. In some embodiments ofthe present invention, the character ROM 114, the programmable memory116, or a SIM also can store operating code (OC) for the microprocessor113 and code for performing functions associated with the mobiletelephone 100. For example, the programmable memory 116 can comprisemedia player activation computer readable program code components 125configured to cause execution of a method for activating a media player,according to an embodiment of the present invention. Various methods foractivating a media player, according to different embodiments of thepresent invention, are described in detail below.

It is known in the art to provide a “transmitter off operating mode”,sometimes referred to as an “airplane mode”, on a multi-functionwireless communication device, such as on the mobile telephone 100. Sucha transmitter off operating mode disables a transmitter or transceiverof a device while enabling operation of various non-radio frequency (RF)transmission applications. Such non-RF transmission applicationsinclude, for example, games, media players, electronic calendars andpersonal information management applications. Thus such a transmitteroff operating mode can be useful in an RF transmission restrictedenvironment, such as on some airplanes, and also can conserve devicebattery power.

Further, operating a multifunction wireless communication device in atransmitter off operating mode can be convenient in other circumstances.For example, a start up process for a standard operating mode of awireless communication device such as a mobile telephone can be timeconsuming, as the telephone is required to activate its transceiver, andthen complete boot-up algorithms including authentication, authorizationand accounting (AAA) procedures with a local network. Where a userdesires to activate an application that does not involve RFtransmission, such as a media player application, activating a mobiletelephone in a transmitter off operating mode generally can be performedmore quickly than activating a standard operating mode because nointeractions with a network are required. Such fast access toapplications that do not involve RF transmission can be very desirable,such as when a user seeks to quickly check an appointment time in anelectronic calendar or quickly access a media file using a media player.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the timerequired to activate a media player, such as an audio or video player,of a wireless communication device can be further reduced by detectingoperative coupling of a speaker system, such as a headset, to thewireless communication device. For example, concerning the mobiletelephone 100, when a headset plug is inserted into the peripheralsocket 119, the mobile telephone 100 can detect that the headset hasbeen operatively coupled to the mobile telephone 100, and thenautomatically activate a media player of the mobile telephone 100. Thusa user is able to begin listening to music or begin watching a video,for example, on the mobile telephone 100 using only the single action ofinserting a headset plug into the peripheral socket 119. Whereas, usinga conventional mobile telephone as known according to the prior art, toactivate a media player a user may be required to wait for many secondswhile the telephone first attaches to a network, and further the user isthen required to make numerous menu selections from a display screen,such as a main menu selection, an applications menu selection, and thena media player selection.

Referring to FIG. 2, a diagram illustrates activating a media player onthe mobile telephone 100 in response to detecting the operative couplingof a speaker system, in the form of a headset 205, to the mobiletelephone 100 using the peripheral socket 119, according to someembodiments of the present invention. The left side of FIG. 2illustrates the mobile telephone 100 turned off so that it is notoperatively coupled to a network, and shows the display screen 105 asblank. Also, the left side of FIG. 2 shows that no peripheral device isattached to the peripheral socket 119. The right side of FIG. 2 thenillustrates the mobile telephone 100 activating a media playerautomatically in response to detecting a headset plug 210 of the headset205 being placed into the peripheral socket 119, where the displayscreen 105 displays icons associated with activation of the mediaplayer.

Operative coupling of a speaker system to a wireless communicationdevice can be performed in various ways, according to variousembodiments of the present invention. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 2, such operative coupling can comprise insertion of a speakersystem plug, such as the headset plug 210, into a socket, such as theperipheral socket 119, of a wireless communication device. According toanother embodiment of the present invention, such operative coupling cancomprise processing a signal received from a wireless peripheral device.For example, a signal received from a wireless Bluetooth® headset couldbe processed using the wireless peripheral adapter 121 of the mobiletelephone 100. Still other types of operative coupling can include, forexample, placing the mobile telephone 100 in a docking station of a homestereo speaker system. Thus according to such an embodiment a song filestored in a memory of the mobile telephone 100 can be immediately playedusing a home stereo speaker system with few or no commands from a user.

According to other embodiments of the present invention, activating amedia player automatically in response to detecting operative couplingof a speaker system to a wireless communication device can be performedusing various modes of a wireless communication device. For example, amedia player can be activated using a transmitter off mode or “airplanemode” as described above, which enables the media player to be activatedmore quickly. Alternatively, the media player can be activated using aconventional operating mode where a wireless communication deviceattaches to a network using a standard start up procedure. A user canthen activate a communication mode, such as a communication modeassociated with answering an incoming telephone call, by providing aninput such as pressing an answer key on the wireless communicationdevice.

According to still other embodiments of the present invention, awireless communication device can detect operative coupling of a stereospeaker system to the device, and then activate a media playerautomatically in response to detecting the operative coupling of thestereo speaker system. According to such embodiments, if a mono speakersystem is operatively coupled to a device, then the device will notactivate the media player. For example, a stereo headset may begenerally used to listen to music using a music player of the mobiletelephone 100; whereas a mono headset may be generally used with themobile telephone 100 for telephony communications. If the mobiletelephone 100 is either turned off or turned on, in either an airplanemode or a standard operating mode, insertion of a stereo headset pluginto the peripheral socket 119 can, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention, activate a media player automatically in response todetecting the insertion of the stereo headset plug. However, if themobile telephone 100 is either turned off or turned on, in either anairplane mode or a standard operating mode, insertion of a mono headsetplug into the peripheral socket 119 will not, according to an embodimentof the present invention, activate a media player automatically.

Referring to FIG. 3, a general flow diagram illustrates a method 300 foractivating a media player of a wireless communication device, accordingto some embodiments of the present invention. At block 305, it isdetermined that the wireless communication device is not operativelycoupled to a network. For example, it is determined that the mobiletelephone 100 is turned off or is operating in a transmitter off orairplane mode. At block 310, an operative coupling of a speaker systemto the wireless communication device is detected. For example, insertionof the headset plug 210 into the peripheral socket 119 of the mobiletelephone 100 is detected. As will be understood by those skilled in theart, such detection can be performed in various ways such as usingphysical switches or by processing various electronic signals associatedwith such an operative coupling. At block 315, the media player isactivated automatically in response to detecting the operative couplingof the speaker system to the wireless communication device. For example,a music player or video player of the mobile telephone 100 can beactivated automatically in response to insertion of the headset plug 210into the peripheral socket 119. Further, according to some embodimentsof the present invention, the media player can automatically beginplaying a preselected audio or video file without any further input froma user other than operative coupling of the speaker system to thewireless communication device. At block 320, a communication mode of thewireless communication device is activated, after activating the mediaplayer, by processing an input from a user. For example, a user maychoose to place an outgoing call or accept an incoming call to themobile telephone 100, after having activated a media player, by pressinga key on the keypad 106.

Referring to FIG. 4, a general flow diagram illustrates a method 400 foractivating a media player of a wireless communication device, accordingto some other embodiments of the present invention. At block 405,operative coupling of a stereo speaker system to the wirelesscommunication device is detected. For example, it is detected that astereo headset plug is inserted into the peripheral socket 119 of themobile telephone 100. At block 410, a media player is activatedautomatically in response to detecting the operative coupling of thestereo speaker system to the wireless communication device. For example,a media player of the mobile telephone 100 is activated automatically inresponse to detecting insertion of a stereo headset plug into theperipheral socket 119 of the mobile telephone 100, whereas insertion ofa mono headset plug into the peripheral socket 119 would not activatethe media player. At block 415, a communication mode of the wirelesscommunication device is activated, after activating the media player, byprocessing an input from a user. For example, a user may choose to placean outgoing call or accept an incoming call to the mobile telephone 100,after having activated a media player, by pressing a key on the keypad106.

Embodiments of the present invention therefore enable a media player ofa wireless communication device to be activated quickly and with only asingle input from a user. Operative coupling of a speaker system to awireless communication device, such as the single action of plugging ina headset to a mobile telephone, can automatically activate a mediaplayer to provide immediate access to audio or video files. Someembodiments of the present invention further avoid delays associatedwith attaching a wireless communication device to a network during aconventional start up process, by activating a media player in atransmitter off mode, thus further accelerating access to the mediaplayer and conserving battery power. Still other embodiments of thepresent invention distinguish between operative coupling of a stereospeaker system, which may indicate that a user seeks to play an audio orvideo file using a media player, and operative coupling of a monospeaker system, which may indicate that a user seeks to use a wirelesscommunication mode of a wireless communication device.

It will be appreciated that embodiments of the invention describedherein may be comprised of one or more conventional processors andunique stored program instructions that control the one or moreprocessors to implement, in conjunction with certain non-processorcircuits, some, most, or all of the functions of activating a mediaplayer of a wireless communication device as described herein. Thenon-processor circuits may include, but are not limited to, a radioreceiver, a radio transmitter, signal drivers, clock circuits, powersource circuits, and user input devices. As such, these functions may beinterpreted as steps of a method for activating a media player of awireless communication device. Alternatively, some or all functionscould be implemented by a state machine that has no stored programinstructions, or in one or more application specific integrated circuits(ASICs), in which each function or some combinations of certain of thefunctions are implemented as custom logic. Of course, a combination ofthe two approaches could be used. Thus, methods and means for thesefunctions have been described herein. Further, it is expected that oneof ordinary skill, notwithstanding possibly significant effort and manydesign choices motivated by, for example, available time, currenttechnology, and economic considerations, when guided by the concepts andprinciples disclosed herein will be readily capable of generating suchsoftware instructions and programs and ICs with minimal experimentation.

In the foregoing specification, specific embodiments of the presentinvention have been described. However, one of ordinary skill in the artappreciates that various modifications and changes can be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention as set forth in theclaims below. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to beregarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and allsuch modifications are intended to be included within the scope of thepresent invention. The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, andany elements that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occuror become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required,or essential features or elements of any or all of the claims. Theinvention is defined solely by the appended claims including anyamendments made during the pendency of this application and allequivalents of those claims.

We claim:
 1. A method for activating a media player of a wirelesscommunication device, the method comprising: detecting operativecoupling of a speaker system to the wireless communication device whenaudio or video files are not playing and responsive to whether thespeaker system is a stereo speaker system or a mono speaker system;activating a media player to automatically begin playing an audio orvideo file using the stereo speaker system in response to detecting theoperative coupling of the stereo speaker system to the wirelesscommunication device; and not automatically activating the media playerto begin playing audio or video files using the mono speaker system inresponse to detecting the operative coupling of the mono speaker systemto the wireless communication device.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe operative coupling of the stereo speaker system to the wirelesscommunication device comprises insertion of a stereo speaker system pluginto a socket of the wireless communication device.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the stereo speaker system comprises a stereo headset.4. The method of claim 1, wherein the media player comprises an audio orvideo player.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising activating acommunication mode of the wireless communication device, afteractivating the media player, by processing an input from a user.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein activating the media player comprises playinga preselected audio or video file.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinactivating the media player is performed in a transmitter off mode thatdoes not operatively couple the wireless communication device to anetwork.
 8. A wireless communication device comprising: amicroprocessor; and a non-transitory programmable memory operativelycoupled to the microprocessor, wherein the non-transitory programmablememory comprises: computer readable program code components fordetecting operative coupling of a speaker system to the wirelesscommunication device when audio or video files are not playing anddetermining whether the speaker system is a stereo speaker system or amono speaker system; computer readable program code components for, inresponse to determining the speaker system is the stereo speaker system,automatically activating a media player to begin playing an audio orvideo file using the stereo speaker system; and computer readableprogram code components for, in response to determining the speakersystem is the mono speaker system, not automatically activating themedia player to begin playing audio or video files using the monospeaker system.
 9. The wireless communication device of claim 8, furtherincluding a socket, and wherein the operative coupling of the speakersystem to the wireless communication device comprises insertion of aspeaker system plug into the socket of the wireless communicationdevice.